Benjamin
Spock's Full Name
- Thread starter SeamusShameless
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Benjamin
It's actually Leslie Artz Spock. He's embarrassed by his ancestor who died handling dynamite stupidly so he lies about it being hard to pronounce.
In "This Side of Paradise", Spock is asked by one Leila Kalomi whether he has another name, and he replies that she could not pronounce it. In "Journey to Babel", Spock's mother is queried about her Vulcan name, and she says she has learned to pronounce it with great difficulty. We're probably to assume that the mysterious unpronounceable name is the surname for the family.
So obviously Spock's full name is Spock Carl, not Carl Spock.
Timo Saloniemi
I think this is the longest one of my threads has ever lasted. Wierd.
Spock's middle name will be Mohammed.
Spock's middle name will be Mohammed.
Indeed, its when Kirk, Sarek, Amanda, and Spock are in the engine room I think that Kirk is addressing Amanda as "Mrs. Sarek" and she tells him it would be hard to pronounce the Vulcan name...
...All of which has been undermined by showing actors speaking "Vulcan" anyway.
Sharr
That's how they do things. There are surnames on vulcan
^ Well, they still do that in Iceland today, and used to do this throughout Scandinavia and much of the world...
Hence Leif Ericson, literally son of Eric (Thorvaldsson) the Red, who was the son of Thorvald Asvaldsson, who was the son of Asvald Ulfsson, who was the son of Ulf Øxna-Þórir, anyway....
S'chn T'gai has always made the most sense as a surname based on everything that's out there. It's certainly somewhat unpronounceable.
Hence Leif Ericson, literally son of Eric (Thorvaldsson) the Red, who was the son of Thorvald Asvaldsson, who was the son of Asvald Ulfsson, who was the son of Ulf Øxna-Þórir, anyway....
S'chn T'gai has always made the most sense as a surname based on everything that's out there. It's certainly somewhat unpronounceable.
Okay, so my vote goes to
"Xtmprszntwlfd Spock S'chn T'gai"
using the pronunciation "KKKHHHtuhmmm-puhrsssssss-zuhn-twool-fid" that sturmde gave us above, because it includes Dorthy Fontana's name for him, and the more interesting one from the novels. And because all together, it would hurt really bad to try to pronounce it.
:thumbsup:
"Xtmprszntwlfd Spock S'chn T'gai"
using the pronunciation "KKKHHHtuhmmm-puhrsssssss-zuhn-twool-fid" that sturmde gave us above, because it includes Dorthy Fontana's name for him, and the more interesting one from the novels. And because all together, it would hurt really bad to try to pronounce it.
:thumbsup:
I don't understand this argument, really.
I mean, you could watch a TV channel that shows humans speaking Finnish, proving that the language can be reproduced with fluency by employing nothing but standard human vocal cords. You could even hear experts testify that the language isn't particularly difficult to pronounce as such. Yet it is quite probable you would never ever learn to pronounce "Saloniemi" correctly, or well enough to pass muster with a native speaker.
This is true of pretty much every language. The letter we denote with "a" has a different pronunciation in every language, and in most languages has different pronunciations in different contexts. A person comfortable with using the letter in "Abraham Washington" would get it all wrong in "Aaro Saloniemi" or "Alberto Agapito". And proper names often defy whatever rules exist for "normal" words, in terms of pronunciation as well as grammar.
Indeed, I bet that Kirk's pronunciation of "Spock" is way off, too. Spock himself has simply learned not to cringe too much. An English speaker would not catch the difference between how Kirk says it, and how Spock himself does (Or how T'Pau does), but words with multiple consonants are notoriously subtle in their phonetic structure. Two extra milliseconds spent on the "k" could make all the difference there. (They do in certain Finnish names.)
Timo Saloniemi
Okay, most of you don't know this little-known fact.
The guys in Monty Python knew Spock's real last name, and used it as the replacement "holy word" for the Knights-who-up-until-recently-said 'Nee!'
And, like Miss Kaylomi, I also can't pronounce it!
The guys in Monty Python knew Spock's real last name, and used it as the replacement "holy word" for the Knights-who-up-until-recently-said 'Nee!'
And, like Miss Kaylomi, I also can't pronounce it!
Many naming attempts date back to the big ST cons in Los Angeles of the early 70s, at which Fontana was a regular guest and panelist. Geoffrey Mandel was part of fandom dabbling in amateur ST publications and fanzines, several of which were picked up as licensed publications (ie. "ST Maps" and the "Medical Reference Manual"). The writers of unlicensed ST "fact" books and fiction of the day often pitched names to DC Fontana, David Gerrold and others (ie. the actors) at various panels, which is how names such as Penda Uhura, Walter Sulu, Christopher Robin Pike and Spock Xtmprszntwlfd came about. I believe David Gerrold also coined James Tiberius Kirk at one of these conventions before adding it to one of his TAS episodes. DC's name for Spock came from one of those infamous, half-joking, early staff production memos from TOS.
"Xtmprszntwlfd" is featured in Mandel's unlicenced but widely distributed (in two editions) post-TMP prozine/manual, "USS Enterprise Officer's Manual", and integrates Xon, Ilia, DiFalco, M'Ress and Arex as part of the crew list.
Nyota Uhura was popularized by the licensed "Star Trek II Biographies", with author William Rotsler (another 70s ST con attendee) similarly clearing the name with - or at least seeking approval from - Nichelle Nichols. It was then picked up by various Pocket novels such as "Uhura's Song".
DumbDumb2007
Commander
his last name was Jones.
Herbert. Herbert Spock!
Therin... bravo for adding many of the other names from the 70s fandom era. Gosh, those were glorious days to live through....
I always enjoyed 'Walter', as it came (IIRC) from a director who somehow managed to confuse George Takei and Walter Koenig's first names....
After further thought, if Spock must be given a name.. .how about something like: "Aiyaemnaat" Spock
I always enjoyed 'Walter', as it came (IIRC) from a director who somehow managed to confuse George Takei and Walter Koenig's first names....
After further thought, if Spock must be given a name.. .how about something like: "Aiyaemnaat" Spock
To be honest, I think some things should better be left unknown. Spock's first name is one of those things. Do Vulcans even have one? Maybe Spock was just trying to be funny when he said it was unpronouncable.
Same thing wit Number One from The Cage. I somehow don't like the idea of giving her a name, fourty years after she appeared for the first, last and only time. Do we really need an explanation for everything?
Same thing wit Number One from The Cage. I somehow don't like the idea of giving her a name, fourty years after she appeared for the first, last and only time. Do we really need an explanation for everything?
Yep. :thumbsup:
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